This Weekend in Sports: Pacquiao vs. Marquez, Army vs. Navy
One of the biggest boxing matches of the year, the return of UFC to Fox and a storied college football rivalry highlight the upcoming sports calendar. Here’s what to watch this weekend:
Friday, December 7
Bellator 83
Caesars, Atlantic City, N.J.; 7 p.m. (ET) on MTV 2
Southpaw Rad Martinez takes on Shahbulat Shamhalaev for the featherweight championship on Friday in Atlantic City. Martinez is skilled, but Shamhalaev is exceptionally quick and strong. Jessica Eye vs. Zoila Gurgel and Anthony Leone vs. Zach Makovsky are two of the best fights on the undercard.
Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder
Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Okla.; 9:30 p.m. (ET) on ESPN
Los Angeles (9-10) faces Oklahoma City (15-4) in a match of Western Conference powers. The Lakers could be without forward Pau Gasol, who missed the past two games with knee tendonitis. Los Angeles star Kobe Bryant is averaging an NBA-best 27.9 points per game. On Wednesday, he became the fourth NBA player to score 30,000 points in his career. The Thunder are on a season-best six-game win streak.
Saturday, Dec. 8
Army vs. Navy
Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia; 3 p.m. (ET) on CBS
Navy (7-4) has won 10 straight in its long series against Army (2-9). These service academies will meet for the 113th time on Saturday. The Midshipmen move the ball with an effective ground attack, and the Cadets have had problems stopping the run all season long. While this is Army’s last game of the season, Navy will play against Arizona State in the Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco Dec. 29.
Temple vs. (2) Duke
Izod Center, East Rutherford, N.J.; 3:15 p.m. (ET) on ESPN
Led by guard Khalif Wyatt, Temple (6-0) is off to its best start since 1987-88. The Owls will face Duke (8-0), which has a 19-1 lifetime record at the East Rutherford arena. Ryan Kelly, Seth Curry and Mason Plumlee pace the Blue Devils attack.
UCLA at Texas
Reliant Stadium, Houston; 5:15 p.m. (ET) on ESPN
UCLA (5-3) has had a difficult start to the 2012-13 season. The Bruins are unranked as they face Texas (5-3) at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Jordan Adams and highly-touted freshman Shabazz Muhammad lead UCLA, while Sheldon McClellan is the Longhorns’ go-to scorer.
(13) Illinois at (10) Gonzaga
McCarthey Athletic Center, Spokane, Wash.; 10 p.m. (ET) on ESPN-2
Illinois (9-0) travels to Gonzaga (9-0), as two solid college basketball programs compete in an early-season bracket-buster game. Guard Brandon Paul leads the Illini in both points and assists per game. Gonzaga is 110-7 in the McCarthey Athletic Center.
Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez
MGM Grand, Las Vegas; 9 p.m. (ET) on HBO PPV
Welterweights Manny Pacquiao (54-4-2) and Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1) have fought three, epic 12-round fights since 2004. Perhaps the greatest fighter of his generation, Pacquiao is 2-0-1 in the three bouts, but he has struggled to defeat Marquez. Their fourth match won’t be a title fight, but that won’t matter to either boxer. Yuriorkis Gamboa vs. Michael Farenas, Miguel Vazquez vs. Mercito Gesta, and Javier Fortuna vs. Patrick Hyland are among the fights on the undercard.
UFC on Fox 5: Benson Henderson vs. Nate Diaz
KeyArena, Seattle; 8 p.m. (ET) on Fox
Current UFC lightweight champ Benson Henderson fights Nate Diaz with the title on the line. Diaz is talented and aggressive, and Henderson is riding high after taking out Frankie Edgar twice. Fights between B.J. Penn vs. Rory MacDonald and Alexander Gustafsson vs. Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua highlight a start-studded undercard.
Sunday, Dec. 9
New Orleans Saints at N.Y. Giants
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.; 4:25 p.m. (ET) on Fox
Drew Brees and New Orleans (5-7) look to extend the Giants’ recent woes. New York (7-5) has its own high-powered offense led by quarterback Eli Manning. The Saints defense gives up 440.5 yards per game, the most in the league.
Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers — 8:20 P.M.
Lambeau Field, Detroit; 8:20 p.m. (ET) on NBC
Detroit (4-8) sends quarterback Matthew Stafford and the NFC’s top-ranked offense against a Green Bay (8-4) defense that rushes the passer very well. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw two touchdown passes in his team’s 24-20 win over the Lions in Week 11.
Country Whuppin’ – Jon Pardi Vs. Lauren Alaina
May 23, 2013 3:22 PM Jon Pardi is one win away from the Country Whuppin' Hall of Fame! To make that happen, he'll have to beat someone who's made it there twice. Let's see if the Pardianimals can hold off Lauren Alaina's new single in today's Whuppin'!
Indiana Budget Allocates More Money for Workforce Development Program
May 23, 2013 11:47 AM Indiana plans to invest more money in the state’s “WorkIN Indiana” program, as a recent peek at the new budget indicates that about $5 million will be allocated to help support things like job training, career certifications and high school equivalency degrees.
Kmart Introduces New Big Gas Savings Commercial [VIDEO]
May 23, 2013 10:53 AM From the store that brought you the controversial yet very funny, 'Ship My Pants' ad, we now have another spot that will force you to listen closely.
11 Diving Fails to Prep You for Summer
Memorial Day is coming up soon, which means the beginning of swimming season is quickly approaching. This also means plenty of painful belly flops, fully-clothed people falling into pools and our latest hilarious discovery, diving fails.
Toby Keith Heads Home to Oklahoma, Surveys Damage From Deadly Tornado
Toby Keith only recently got back into the United States after his latest USO tour, and was actually in Moore, Oklahoma right before the deadly tornado struck on Monday (May 20), but left for Nashville to record new music just hours before it touched down. When he heard about the wreckage and devastation the storm caused, he returned to his hometown the next day, ready to help and assess the damage.
Blake Shelton and NBC Organizing Benefit Concert for Oklahoma Tornado Victims
Country star and 'The Voice' coach Blake Shelton is teaming with NBC to organize a benefit for victims who were struck by the deadly tornado that devastated his home state of Oklahoma on Monday (May 20) -- and he's calling on some famous friends to help out.
Major National Anthem Flub Before Hockey Game
May 22, 2013 11:55 PM The national Anthem is one of the toughest songs to sing that there is. There have been some great versions and some really bad versions over the years - Rosanne - just sayin'. We had some great versions at the Ford Center during the recent Icemen season and just the other night, a little boy did a killer version of the anthem before the Otters game at Bosse Field that was awesome... but sometimes.
How Do You Pronounce GIF? The Creator Says We’re All Wrong Because It’s Pronounced ‘JIF’
May 22, 2013 8:00 PM There are hundreds and thousands of formats in today's computer world, but the GIF format stands alone and was even named the "word of the year" in 2012. GIF stands for 'Graphic Interchange Format'...whatever the heck that means, but it has changed computer animation as we know it. It has always been pronounced with a hard "g", like gift and apparently, that is absolutely WRONG...who knew?
Tri-State Gives Moore Mediathon Raises $26,000 For Red Cross
May 22, 2013 6:30 PM A partnership between Eyewitness News, Townsquare Media, and the Evansville Courier and Press have made a big impact with the Red Cross. Wednesday from 6am-6pm, all the media outlets pooled their efforts to raise funds for victims of the Moore, OK tornado victims and with the help of Tri-State donors, we were able to raise $26,016 just in phone-in donations.
Be Prepared When a Tornado Strikes with New Red Cross Tornado App
The months of May and June bring welcome relief from the winter chill, but they also bring along an increased risk for severe weather in the Tri-State area, namely tornadoes.